Our Lord Jesus has established His church as a patriarchal fellowship (a fellowship led by male spiritual leadership).  In the past many have held to the view that women have no role at all to play in church music.  For example, Medieval church choirs had no female singers.  Male spiritual leadership was never designed to marginalize active involvement of women.  The modern church has come realize this, so today the church welcomes female singers in the congregation.

Most understand that a patriarchal fellowship means that men should be our song leaders.  Men should provide primary congregational leadership.  But what could women be doing to help facilitate the musical ministry of the church?  The Singing School at Abilene Christian University now offers a service to help women be productive in the church’s ministry of a cappella church music.

In fact, we now offer certification in the field of Christian Women in church music.  This service requires women to attend the singing school for four summers.  The following is the curriculum for this service.

Curriculum For Year One For Christian Women In Church Music

Introduction To Music Theory (or) Harmony 

Women who have no music background will be introduced to all the core principles of music.  Women who have a background in music will study the principles of Harmony.

The Singers Workshop

Women will study an introduction to the human voice and how voices are blended in group singing.  This workshop will teach group singing principles by the formation of a singing group.  Everyone will learn to sing together, blending voices, harmonizing, and producing a group that achieves a high quality performance.  This group will sing for the student body of the school.

Sight Reading Music

Women will learn how to look at a page of music and be able to learn to sing a new song.  There will be two lab classes each day.

The History Of Church Music

Women will learn the history of the songs that we sing each week in the public assembly.  The many stories of our music heritage will help every woman to more deeply appreciate our music.

Curriculum For Year Two For Christian Women In Church Music

The Role Of Women In The Church

This class will offer a general Bible survey of women in service to God’s kingdom.  The Old Testament view and the New Testament view will be presented.  Practical applications will be made for women in the context of their ministry in church music.

Training Young Children In Church Music

Our children need to learn all they can about our church music.  We offer women a survey of principles of Child Development as it applies to music and singing.  We also present a series of music classes children can be taught at various ages.

Introduction To Song Leading

Ladies Bible classes, women’s retreats, and women’s lectureships often need song leaders.  We offer training to Christian women to enable them to lead singing in these contexts.  This class will blend lecture, lab work, and video coaching for each student.

Sight Reading Music

Second year students will continue their studies in the development of their ability to sight read music.

Trends In Church Music

Church music changes over time.  Each major change creates a “trend”.  The story of how church music has changed in style and form is a fascinating study into the develop of our modern hymnody.

Curriculum For Year Three For Christian Women In Church Music

Public Worship Development

Christian women in church music need to have a comprehensive understanding of every facet of the public assembly of the church.  This understanding needs to be grounded in Scripture and expanded to applications in traditions and practical considerations.

This class allows women to discover the culture that is present in every church.  Students learn to recognize various types of culture and learn how to distinguish culture from God’s eternal truth.

This class provides a broad survey of hospitality, prayer, singing, the Lord’s Supper, giving, and scripture reading.

Advanced Song Leading

Second year students were given an introduction to song leading.  This class continues the development of these skills.

Sight Reading Music

This is the third summer that ladies will continue to develop their competence in the art of sight reading music.

The History Of Public Worship

Public worship has changed over the centuries of time.  This class surveys the movements that led to those changes, and this class emphasizes how and why later generations made others forms of change to the assembly.  This historical study helps all church musicians to understand the historical context of how people have viewed the assembly and its music.

Curriculum For Year Four For Christian Women In Church Music

Advanced Studies In Women’s Ministries Of Music

This class discusses the role that women can play in weddings, funerals, special ladies’ activities, and in the training of young children.  Women can also help men teach new songs to the local church by conducting new song labs where men and women are separated into two different classes.

This class will focus on practical surveys of repertory, organization, leadership, and performance.

Organizing A Ministry Of Music For Women

The Singing School At Abilene Christian University trains men to develop a Ministry Of Church Music in the church.  This ministry allows churches to have specific men to take responsibility for training the church to sing, to select hymnal resources, to manage electronic technology, and to provide the church with quality singing.

Within the horizons of a congregation’s ministry of church music the women of the church can organize their talents to assist in every way possible.  This class helps women to develop the skills they need to work in cooperation with the men and to develop a fruitful ministry for women in church music.

Ministry Lab

This will be a lab class where the women work together to develop a singing group and learn to work together to plan projects for the women of the church.  This lab will include the formation of a special singing group to sing at the evening singing during the school.